Ipswich's Moonlight welcome back at IPAC

Wednesday

Jul 2, 2014 at 5:51 PMJul 2, 2014 at 5:51 PM

By Dan Mac AlpineIpswich@wickedlocal.com

Allís well that ends well.Moonlight Productions, the Ipswich-based, non-profit theater company, will use the Ipswich Performing Arts Center for its summer musical production, "Honk!," after all.School Superintendent William Hart and Moonlight owner J.T. Turner reached a three-point agreement that will allow the theater company to use the performing arts center and reassure Hart and other school officials Moonlight will use the facility responsibly."This agreement will protect the interests of both the school and community, and will allow us to recommit to the fulfillment of our shared goal of a strong collaborative relationship between school and town to support enhanced opportunities for our youth and residents," Hart and Turner said in a joint, written statement.Hart had initially banned Moonlight from using the performing arts center this summer because of what he called "supervisory" issues during last yearís production of "Pirates of Penzance."Hart declined to detail what those issues were, but said he was acting on the recommendations of Jerry Dolan, high school director of fine arts; high school Principal Dave Dalton; and the centerís director Scott Ames.The performing arts center is open for community use, but the schools supervise its use.Turner said the supervisory concerns stemmed from two incidents last year.In the first incident, Turner said about 20 adult volunteers moved the centerís grand piano off the stage and lowered it into the orchestra pit.In the second incident, a 4th grader who was painting some backdrops, used the menís room and smeared the blue paint all over the bathroom stall walls ó a mess the boy and his mother scrubbed clean the next day, Turner said.The agreementís three points closely resemble what Turner suggested in an article in last weekís "Chronicle."The agreement calls for:1. An initial walkthrough of the space, with representatives of the school and Moonlight, to memorialize and agree on the current condition of the space and note any needed attention by the school or Moonlight.2. It is agreed that the movement of any items on the stage that need to be cleared or moved into the wings will only be done by the school, or with the schoolís approval. Additionally, a list of all stage pieces being introduced to the space will be furnished to the school.3. Upon completion of the run, after the strike, a walkthrough by representatives of the school and Moonlight will be performed and memorialized to mutual satisfaction.Hart declined further comment on the agreement saying in an email he preferred to the let the statement speak for itself.Turner could not be reached for direct comment."Well, we have come to a fair compromise, and will be using the Ipswich Performing Arts Center for our show. This has been a tough, sometimes nasty 5 month battle, but it has taught me a great deal," wrote Turner in a social media post.